George t



(No Model.)

G. T. CHAPMAN.

' TOE WEIGHT.

Nb. 428,243. Patented May- 20, 1890.

7 INVENTEIR M 'WITNESSES= 7 5 Zzivfliidzmay UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE T. CHAPMAN, OF \VHITE PLAINS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO VILLIAM HARVEY MERRITT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TOE-WEIGHT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 428,243, dated May 20, 1890.

Application filed August 8, 1889- Serial No. 320,168. No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE T. CHAPMAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of \Vhite Plains, in the county of Vestchester, State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Toe-VVeight Attachments for Horses Feet, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of an improved contrivance for attaching and securing toeweights for weighting horses feet, for improving the action and increasing speed by causing greater forward reach and better placing of the feet on the ground through the effect of the momentum of the weig11t,'as hereinafter fully described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a horses foot and shoe and a sectional elevation of the toeweight attachment of my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same; and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the shoe on an enlarged scale.

I construct the shoe to with a small extension 1) formed of the middle of the toe, with a vertical hole 0 through it alittle back of its point, and preferably opening into a recess (1 made in the under side of the said toe-extension, the purpose being to provide a suitable place for engaging the lower endof the toe-weight e by the hook-point f, said toe-weight eonsistin g of a kind of bulb-shaped metallic body, having one concave side g, adapted to fit the toe-front of the hoof, with a transverse rib h at the lower edge of said side adapted to engage a transverse groove or notch 'i that I make for it in the front of the toe of the hoof, said weight also having the aforesaid hookpivot f suitably projecting downward and forward of the lower end, to engage the pro jection b of the toe of the shoe by hooking into or through hole 0 and coming to a bear ing therein when the rib h and the concave side 9 of the weight come to their bearings in the groove 2' and on the front of the hoof above, respectively; and said weight is fitted with the binding-screw j, extending from the upper front portion down through it and bearing on the upper extremityof extension 1) forward of the hole 0, so that said screw, hook f, and rib it together secure the Weight to the toe in a simple and efficient manner, enabling it to be put on and taken off at Will, to be used or not, as wanted, the shoe being alike useful with or without the toe-weight. The arrangement facilitates the use of different weights, as lighter or heavier, for different conditions and for experiment and the like, as, no matter 110W much the weights may vary in size and gravity, the conditions for efiecting the attachment may be the same in all cases.

I claim as my invention- The improved toe-weight attachment, consisting of the Weight having one side adapted' to the shape of the toe-front of the hoof, the transverse rib adapted to fit a groove in the toe of said hoof, the hook adapted to engage the projection of the shoe, and the bindingscrew, with the shoe, having the said forward and perforated extension, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in presence of two witnesses, this 26th day of July, 1889.

GEO. 'l. CHAPMAN.

\Vitnesses: V

W. B. EARLL, W. J. MORGAN. 

